The most isolated town in NSW, Tibooburra is the ultimate destination of those travelling to the Corner Country and beyond.
Originally named The Granites due to the ancient granite tors that surround the village, Tibooburra formed part of the Albert goldfields. Life in the Albert goldfields was tough and life in Tibooburra was no exception.
Tibooburra is the closest town to Sturt National Park, an expansive park located in the north-west corner of NSW and bordering South Australia to the West and Queensland to the north, provides the visitor with a great insight to the geomorphology of outback Australia with ancient eroded mountain ranges and vast gibber plains easily illustrating the concept of the inland sea that early explorers believed covered the interior of Australia.
The park also provides several vantage points to the Dingo Fence.
Tibooburra is a great service town for locals and visitors alike, with facilities including:
- Two hotels,
- Motel rooms, cabins and a caravan park and hostel to accommodate visitors.
- Post-office with banking and internet access
- Supermarket
- Two cafes facilities.
- The Royal Flying Doctor Service visits each Tuesday for a clinic.
- Modern roadhouse and local stores provide meals and fuel, or undertake vehicle repairs.
There Pioneer Park on the north side of town with a wonderful replica of a full-size 27-foot long whaleboat perched on the top of some poles; a replica of the whaleboat Charles Sturt hauled across inland Australia.
And here, on the edge of the huge Sturt National Park you can really feel as though you are in the heart of the desert… the real and remote outback.
Tibooburra is the perfect base for exploring Sturt National Park, and there are three wonderful and informative self-drive tours:
- The Gorge Loop Road: This around Mt Wood and the Mount Wood Hills covers the outdoor pastoral heritage museum, Mt Wood Homestead & shearers’ quarters, the Gibber and Mitchell Grass Plains, the Twelve Mile Creek Gorge, and the old pastoral remains at Torrens Bore and Horton Park Station. Wildlife such as Emu, Kangaroo, and Wedge-Tail eagles are commonly sighted.
- The Jump-Ups Loop Road: The ancient landforms that are known as the Jump-Ups are the remains of an ancient mountain range that have been eroded down over millions of years leaving the 150m plateau (Mesa) and the granite strewn plains which form the catchment of the Connia Creek (Ephemeral) which follows south-east into the Twelve Mile creek.
- Cameron Corner: The drive from Tibooburra to Cameron Corner takes the visitor through a diverse landscape including the Waka clay pan, past Fort Grey which was provisions stockade built by explorer Charles Sturt for his inland expeditions, and on to the Corner and the world’s longest fence; the 5,000+ km Dog Fence which was constructed to keep roaming Dingos of the north and west out of the pastoral lands of NSW.
** NOTE: This area of Australia is VERY hot in summer so correct travel procedures should be followed. Autumn/winter/spring can be a more favourable time to travel for those new to outback travel.
Visitor Information
Contact the Corner Country Visitor Information Centre for further information and travel advice